1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to software and mobile devices. More specifically, it relates to logging into, executing, and user authentication for multiple apps on a mobile device.
2. Description of the Related Art
The concept of single sign-on (SSO) for accessing multiple programs on a computer or in a computer network is well established. There are scenarios in the laptop and desktop PC environments where a user provides login credentials once and is then able to access multiple software programs and perform various functions without have to login to each program or utility separately or repeatedly. The user logins in once and is subsequently authenticated to use other programs on that PC. When a user logs into one system, information about the user's login credentials are cached. This login information can take the form of the user's keys, a token or ticket issued by an SSO server, or even copies of the login credentials. When the user attempts to log into another system in the same network, the cached login information is provided automatically without requiring the user to re-enter login credentials.
Enterprises recognize the power and utility of SSO and wish to apply it to mobile devices. Specifically, enterprises may have a federation or collection of apps that its employees, may use. When a user logins to one of the apps in the enterprise federation of apps, an enterprise may want its employees to have an SSO-like feature with respect to the other enterprise apps. That is, the enterprise may want its employees to benefit from multi-app authentication or verification. When an employee logins in to one app in the federation, for a certain amount of time, she should not have to go through a login when starting another app in the same federation.